Motown Rain
by Marie Writer
Summary: Connor is hurt on the job and Hank races against the clock to find a way to save him. Facing his own mortality has the younger detective spiraling and the elder one has to find a way to keep it together while memories of the past come back and taunt him with a dreadful vision of the future.
1. Chapter 1

**/ Dec. 3rd** , 2039 **/**

PM **21:52  
** _Downtown Detroit_

 **Connor**

"We gotta runner!" Hank shouted and started to run after the criminal, leaving the light of the streetlamps and disappearing into the black of night.

They no longer hunted deviants, their main caseload came from crimes against androids rather that those against humans- those cases were still reserved for other cops and detectives but there was a growing task force dedicated to android rights and hate crimes. The man they were chasing now, Alistair Bowman, had been kidnapping androids off the streets and killing them, throwing them in the pit that was once used for any decommissioned android. It had taken a week to track the asshole down but they finally had him until the neighbor tipped him off.

While Hank took off in pursuit, his feet slamming down on the filthy, cement of the Detroit streets, Connor paused to consider his options.

 _Follow Hank in pursuit of criminal -_ he looked to his left - _Take alley and cut him off_

 **28% chance success 72% chance success  
of apprehension of apprehension**

Connor turned to the left and sprinted down the alleyway as fast as he could go, effortlessly leaping over toppled pallets or garbage cans in order to reach the end of the alley and cut Bowman off at the corner of the block that he predicted the criminal would take. He turned the corner just in time to see him pass around the building and run across a crosswalk while the light was red, nearly run over by an oncoming car, which now blared its horn but Bowman was hardly bothered and kept going. Continuing the chase, Connor made snap decision to avoid oncoming crowd of disorderly, drunk pedestrians, even though it was more direct, and ran across the street to the other side to catch up to Bowman.

One thing that was better about chasing humans rather than androids was when it came to endurance Connor, being the pursuant, was faster and didn't run out of breath or tire whereas humans did. Soon, despite having the lead, Bowman slowed down and ducked into another alley. Without a second thought, Connor turned the same corner but stumbled when he was hit in the back of the head with a discarded, metal pipe.

His optical display fizzed and staticked as he fell forward onto his hands and knees, blinking rapidly while his LED whirred into a deep red.

"Piece of shit plastic! You think you're better than me?!" Bowman shouted, still huffing and puffing as he caught his breath, and kicked under Connor's stomach while he was still down. "I'll show you like I showed all those other machines; humans are at the top and you all are _nothing_." He pulled out a pistol and Connor looked up in time to instinctively analyze the weapon and situation.

 _Glock 9mm, loaded, safety off._

Connor, in the matter of seconds it took for Alistair to aim the gun at his head, went through several scenarios for how to disarm the human and take advantage of the situation. He chose the safest and most efficient option and implemented the sequence of actions: since Bowman stood to his left side beside his thighs, Connor used his left elbow to land a blow to the side of Bowman's left knee, knocking him off balance while he pivoted on his knees to face him, then he used his right hand to grab Bowman's shooting arm at the wrist and divert the direction of the barrel away from him.

The gun went off when Connor slammed his palm against the inside of Bowman's wrist, the bullet lodging into the brick wall behind him.

 **/**

 **Hank**

He had been right on the son of a bitch, Bowman was right there and then a group of drunk idiots spilled out from a bar to his left and into the streets as if the building itself was puking them out of the door. They came out stumbling, hollering, and laughing. One of them collided into his side and another puked into the storm drain to his right.

"DPD you morons! Get out of the _fucking_ way!" He shouted and shoved through them but by the time he got passed them he had lost sight of their perp. "Damnit-fuck-shit!" He threw his arms in the air and took a few futile steps forward but for all he knew the guy ran straight, to the left, the right… maybe he flew straight up into the air. it didn't matter because the guy was in the wind! The drunks all walked by him again, brushing against his shoulders and spewing nonsense all over the place but Hank was too pissed to even care about them anymore, even if they were what caused him to lose Bowman anyway.

Once they were out of sight, he ran his fingers through his short hair, parted to one side, from brow to the back of his head, when he got to the nape of his neck he pulled his hands forward to follow along his jawline and brushed against his neat, trimmed beard. His cleaner appearance, which went along with his more formal slacks and button-up shirt, was all due to Connor making the suggestion and because he had moved in and started cleaning everything else up to go along with it. "Well, shit, Kid, we-" Then he turned and realized Connor wasn't with him and he blanched, his eyes going wide. "Connor? Connor!"

He did a 360 degree pivot and found he was alone on the sidewalk until he looked to the intersection again and saw Connor running full sprint down the other side of the road, heading to Hank's right. He followed along with his eyes, his mouth dropping open to yell at him but then he looked further up and saw Bowman disappearing around a corner. "Ah, fuck!" Hank started to run in that direction as well, holding up his hand in a stopping motion at a car coming towards him, flashing their headlights. "Yeah, yeah, official cop business!" He excused and kept going.

Nearly caught up with Connor where he had turned the corner, Hank heard a gunshot ring out from the alley and his blood ran cold with fear that Connor had been shot and he stumbled for a moment only to start running faster, his own weapon drawn and ready to fire. As he finally turned the corner, he saw the two of them still struggling against the other- slamming their bodies against the brick wall and into the dumpsters, grunting and huffing.

"Connor!" He called in warning and held his gun up to take the shot at Bowman but Connor was too caught up in the fight to pull away without getting hurt and Hank wasn't prepared to risk hitting his partner by firing into their brawl. Connor was a superior fighter but Hank kept his gun raised just in case he gave him the space to do it as he shouted, "Bowman! Drop the weapon!"

Another shot rang out and Hank flinched, blinking once in surprise as the sound echoed off the steel dumpsters and the brick walls they stood between. His body went cold and hot at the same time as pain erupted through his chest, his whole body locked up in shock. The dread that weighed in his stomach made it feel like he had been shot but, honestly, he wished he had been. Instead, he stood there like a statue as he watched Connor's legs collapse underneath him, blue blood spraying from his chest and staining the front of Bowman's clothes and up his neck. A scream tore through the alleyway in a response to the gunshot like thunder reacts to lightning and before Hank realized it was his voice screaming, "no", he had pulled the trigger on his own pistol and shot Bowman in the side of his temple, the man had still be staring down at Connor like he was surprised he had won.

Holstering his weapon, Hank ran up to the two bodies that took up the width of the alleyway and kicked the glock out of Bowman's hand just to be safe. Blue and red blood mixed on the blacktop but he only cared about where the blue was coming from. Connor had landed on his back, his body crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, his eyes wide open and staring up at the sky between the two buildings on either side of them. As Hank crouched beside him, Connor turned his head ever so slightly to his left so Hank could just barely see the red of his LED as it blinked on and off. "H-Hank…?"

"Ssh, Connor, just hold on." He hushed and pulled apart Connor's blue stained, white shirt at the buttons, exposing his chest, some of them flying off and bouncing across the pavement. The wound was just right of where his pump regulator was located. "... fuck."

"Hank, I- I've been shot."

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," Hank snapped but not out of anger towards Connor. He lifted his hands to cup Connor's cheek, keeping it from touching the street and to get him to look at him. "Connor… Kid, tell me how to fix ya. How do I save you?"

"C- Can't…" Connor managed, his lips twitching into a frown, his brown eyes gazing at Hank with fear and sorrow. "No parts."

"No, parts? What are you talking about?" Hank asked frantically, shaking Connor desperately when the android started to shut his eyes. "No! Stay awake, Connor! C'mon! What do you mean 'no parts'?"

"Pro- proto-"

Hank furrowed his brow, his eyes darting back and forth rapidly as he tried to piece together what Connor was trying to communicate. Thinking clearly passed all the blue staining his hands and clothes was harder than Hank ever thought would be possible. "Prototype?" He guessed.

Connor nodded just barely, his eyelids fluttering.

"No, no, no- hey!" He shifted his position so that he was tucked closer to Connor, his knees pressing against his arm briefly until he was able to pull his partner into his lap, one arm under Connor's shoulders to support his neck and head against his bicep while his other hand instinctively pressed against his chest as if that would staunch the bleeding. "Stay with me, Kid, c'mon! You're saying because you're a prototype they don't have extra parts for you?" Connor nodded. "What about that 900 model at Cyberlife Headquart- oh. Oh no…"

After the revolution, despite Markus's requests for there not to be a cease in producing more androids, until deliberations in the Supreme Court concerning Android Rights could be finalized there had been a hold on all Cyberlife manufacturing. To keep androids from rioting, however, Cyberlife continued to keep their stores open in order to provide and distribute extra parts and Thirium for any damages. So, although there were still parts available, Connor was still one of a kind after they had killed the one replacement that Cyberlife had produced. No other android shared his pump regulator.

"'m sorry, Ha- Hank…" Connor said softly, bringing him out of his abstraction.

When he looked back down at Connor to tell him to stop apologizing, he found that Connor had closed his eyes, the kid's face leaning heavily against Hank's chest. "Connor, hey! Don't you die on me. We gotta figure this out. I'm not letting you die, Connor, you hear me? _Connor_!" He shouted, his voice cracking on his last attempt to rouse his partner as he shook him violently until he opened his eyes again.

"There's n-nothing you can d-do…"

"Bullshit! Do me a favor, Son, and quit trying to die on me while I'm trying to save you, okay?! Now, just hold on and lemme think!" He thought for all of two seconds before he laid Connor back down on the ground and stripped his own white shirt, now stained with Connor's blood, off so he was only dressed in his white t-shirt, also stained blue, and pressed it against the wound, packing it in.

"Won't * _help 'nything*_ … reg- ulator…" Connor tried to explain, his words going in and out between sounding normal and dropping three octaves in a grating, mechanical failure kind of way.

"Ssh, I need you to save your energy." Hank insisted in a calm voice, his expression as soft as it was fearful while he looked down at Connor. With one hand holding his cellphone to his ear, he pressed his other hand, his palm, against Connor's forehead in an intimate gesture that mimicked one checking for a fever which seemed to calm the kid because he managed a small smile and closed his eyes.

"Not dying… sh- shu- shutting * _down*…_ like _*sleeping*…_ humans…" Connor informed, barely able to keep his eyes open the small sliver that they were so Hank could barely see the dark brown anymore.

Hank wanted to scream, wanted to beg Connor to stay awake, but the less energy the android exerted the more likely he had a chance to survive this. "That's alright, Connor. I got you. You'll be okay." Damn the infuriating ringing on the other end of the line. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon… pick up, damn-it!"

"H- * _Ha*-_ Hank, if… if I _*don't*_ …"

He shook his head and stroked the hair away from Connor's forehead and offered the best smile he could, still cursing the fact that no one was picking up the phone, he kept trying to reassure him, "This ain't goodbye, Son. You'll see me again, okay?"

"O-kay… * _Dad*_ …"

Hank's chest hiccupped at Connor's last words and when the voice finally came from the other side he shouted, "Fucking finally you asshole!"

" _Hank? The hell's your problem?!"_

"You owe me a favor, Glenn. I'm cashing it in," he said sharply, his gaze never looking away from Connor's face, his eyes following the lines of Thirium that had spatted up his neck and freckled his face with blue. "Now."

After he got off the phone, Hank found that carrying Connor back to his car was harder than it looked, the kid looked like he weighed a buck seventy at the most but all those biocompents and alloy body added up and despite what Hank had in mind, he ended up having to do a fireman's carry to get his partner back. He laid him out gently into the back seat then fell into the driver's seat and tore out of the parking lot like a drag racer, the siren blaring and red and blue lights flashing through the dark city streets. He pulled up to the back of an old house on the outskirts of the bad side of town and honked his horn twice. A lanky man, Glenn Kwon, with salt and peppered hair and a regal-like posture, back straight, shoulders back, and chin lifted, came out with his hands on his hips. "Hank Anderson, this is _not_ -"

"Can it, Glenn, we're short on time," Hank shouted as he slammed his door shut and opened the back drivers side door hurriedly. He crawled halfway inside and leaned over Connor for a moment, trying to swallow passed the lump in his throat at seeing Connor's expression so blank for the first time in over a year.

Ever since the revolution, a year ago, Connor had been much more expressive, always smirking or giving Hank a look that just spelled mischief or understanding. His eyes would get big and he would smile whenever Sumo would climb on him and lick all over his face and his mouth would drop open just a little bit when they watched movies back from the early 2000's. The kid was becoming human more and more each day and now he was just lying there, barely clinging to life. His LED flashing red was the only indicator Hank had to go on that his partner was still holding on, still fighting to live. "Okay, Kid…" he whispered around his heart in his throat. "Let's get you right."

With a solitary grunt of effort, Hank got him sitting up in the seat and then lifted him over one shoulder so that Connor's head hung in line with the center of his back. At seeing the condition of the android Hank was bringing to him, Glenn's mouth snapped shut and he seemed to accept what the favor was about and opened the door for him to walk through. "In the back, there's a table, set him there."

The house, despite being on a rather vagrant side of town, was very clean and organized on the inside. One would never guess by the shabby siding and boarded up windows that inside looked like a normal home with polished hardwood flooring and neutral painted walls. Though, if Hank had time to care or speculate, he would assume that was the whole point of keeping the outside nasty, to live under the radar with cheap rent. He passed through a white curtain and found a sterile room in the back. It was spotless with white walls and stainless steel countertops and table in the center of it all like a kitchen island, monitors sat idle to the side and there was a decommissioned android in the corner without its skin or anything, dressed in only a hospital gown as it stood idle with no light on.

"Before you get any bad ideas I didn't hurt him… he was killed by Cyberlife. I tried to rescue him after he was scheduled to be deactivated but I didn't get there in time. When I left, I snuck him out with me… I've been trying to- " Glenn explained as he watched Hank gently lay Connor on the table, careful of his head.

"That sounds like a great fucking story for another time, Glenn, I literally can't afford to care right now. Just save _him_." He said and pointed at Connor, his eyes wide.

Glenn snapped on some latex gloves, to prevent staining his skin blue, and walked up to the table, prodding at the gaping hole in Connor's chest. "He was shot?" Hank nodded. "How long ago?"

"Not even five minutes before I called you."

"His pump regulator is damaged, soon his heart will stop beating-"

Hank grabbed the front of Glenn's shirt and shook him angrily twice, his eyes hard and wild as he snarled at the other man. "You're not listening. I'm _telling_ you to _save_ him."

A moment passed and Glenn still didn't respond, fixing Hank with a steady, unbothered stare until he was finally released with a huff. He straightened out his shirt and held his head higher. "Listen to me, Lieutenant, there is no replacement part for him. What I can do is try to fix it but in order to do that I have to remove his regulator completely."

"That'll kill him even faster!" Hank protested, his eyes widening and one hand instinctively reaching to grip Connor's shoulder protectively.

"Not if we hook him up to some batteries and wires…" Glenn responded, ever calm. He lifted an eyebrow and moved away from the table to get a rolling drawer set that rattled the whole way over with the tools and other such utensils inside. "It'll be like life support and we'll have to closely monitor him. I'll need your help, I can't do it fast enough by myself, we'll only have about two minutes before he dies."

Hank snapped his eyes up to glare at Glenn again, not liking the way he phrased that. However, now was not the time to argue or get in a fight. Connor's LED light was blinking slower and slower and Hank feared the moment that it blinked off and stayed that way. He swallowed thickly and nodded. "Okay, just tell me what I need to do."

"I'm going to prep the wiring and we're going to plug him into a car battery but after I pull out his regulator we can't just use the clamps on his inner circuits, we could fry him completely… we need to manually wrap the wiring around the casings inside his chest." Glenn explained with a grim expression, squinting as he waited for Hank's response.

He rubbed both hands down the front of his face heavily, dread pooling in his stomach like lava and his head buzzing with anxiety and fear. "You're- you're sure it will work?" he asked hopelessly, barely looking at Glenn from under heavy eyebrows, his fingers twitching at his side.

"No." Glenn replied honestly. "But it's his only shot."

"Fine."

Glenn nodded and pointed to a door on the other end of the room, adjacent to the one they had come through. "Battery is in there, I'll get everything else ready." He instructed and Hank gazed at Connor for a long time, covering the androids forehead with his palm briefly before retreating to the garage to find the car battery that may or may not save his life.

 **O.o.O.o**

 **/ Dec. 4th** , 2039 **/**

AM **04:17**

 _Model: RK800_

 _Serial Number: #687 899 150  
_ **\- rA9 - rA9 - rA9 -** _... active_

 _Reboot…_

 _Checking Memory…_

 _ **Loading OS…**_

 _System Initialization…  
Checking Biocomponents… defective_

 _Initializing Biosensors… ok_

 _Initializing AI Engine… ok_

 _Low Power Mode_

"Hank…" Connor called out instinctively, his LED blue, even though he had yet to open his eyes to see where he was. The last thing he remembered was…

As he thought hard about it, his LED flickering to an unsteady yellow, he scrunched up his nose and furrowed his brow in concentration; it was like putting together slices of a video that was broken up and seperated into a modge podge of images. Finally he got it all together and he remembered Hank trying to help but the man didn't pay attention and the gun went off. So, how was he alive?

Connor opened his eyes but instead of clear, intelligent, brown eyes they were white/ blue from corner to corner. Still, he tried to look around but could see nothing. The distinctive smell of Thirium was all he could tell about where he was and from what he could deduce, it was likely his blood that filled the air. Unable to see, apparently still bleeding, with no sign of Hank in his immediate vicinity, Connor began to panic his stress levels rising from 55% to 82% in a matter of seconds. He thrashed his head back and forth as he tried to lift himself into a sitting position, wanting to find Hank, needing to know he was safe. How had they gotten here? What was happening? Was his partner even still alive? The last thing he remembered was getting shot but he had no way of knowing what followed after. "Hank?!"

The sound of fabric shifting came from his right and he lifted his head just enough off the table so he could hear properly with both ears, blinking rapidly like that would help his vision to return. "Who's there, what have you done with my partner?"

"Oh, thank fuck!" Hank's voice exclaimed and was beside Connor so quickly it made him dizzy.

"Hank…" Connor breathed, relieved as he closed his eyes to fully embrace the positive emotion and the rush it gave him, his stress levels immediately dropping to under 50%.

The older detective was cradling his face now, one hand supporting Connor's head, keeping it lifted off the table for the time being, while the other cupped his cheek. "Hey, easy, Son, easy… you're alright, you're safe, I gotcha..." he hushed when Connor flinched and his whole body jerked in an attempt to sit up.

"Hank… what? Where...?" His LED was still flashing red, fear swelling in his chest and buzzing in his head like a bee.

"Whoa, whoa… you gotta calm down, Connor. The doc said you can't exert too much energy you'll blow the battery." Hank said and motioned to the battery that he couldn't see; Connor's chest exposed, a hole where his regulator was supposed to be and wires sticking out everywhere like some sort of robotic frankenstein project. "Shit, Connor… what's wrong with your eyes?"

"I assume it's due to lower power, my energy is being channeled to more important things, like my heart and brain functions… vision is not a requirement to keep me alive." He explained and deduced that he was plugged into some sort of battery rather than his usual regulator since his sensors weren't picking up the existence of his biocomponent. It must have been truly damaged. With no way to know how long he had been hooked up to it, he didn't know how much longer he had before the battery ran out of power and very possibly took him with it. Instead of griping about his own mortality, even though the question was begging to be asked, Connor turned his attention to Hank and looked him up and down with a long, blind gaze, futilely trying to see if Hank was at all injured in any way.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Hank's expression softened briefly before he slipped on a mask of annoyance. "You're hooked up to a damn car battery and the second thing you're worried about is how _I'm_ doing?"

He would not be deterred. Connor fixed Hank with the strongest glare he could muster while blind and half naked on a table in a strange place with a gaping wound in his chest. "Hank. Are you wounded?"

Clenching his jaw, the detective shook his head and lowered his gaze, when he spoke his voice was strained and his lower lip quivered despite his best efforts. "No, you crazy sonofabitch, I'm not hurt. I'm fine."

Connor dropped his head back down onto the table, Hank letting him but guided it the whole way so it would rest softly on the metal, and sighed his relief. "Good. That's good.

 **/**

 **Glenn**

The android in the other room had called for Hank and the old man practically fell over his own feet, leaving Glenn's side in his workshop like a man with a fire under his ass to go to him. Glenn sighed and rolled his eyes as he fixed the light Hank had bumped in his haste and finished with what he was currently trying to correct on the regulator with tweezers and a giant magnifying glass. He was all for Android Rights and seeing them as alive because from the work he had been doing for the last decade he had certainly found that to be true, it was why he was fired from Cyberlife years before the revolution, his suggestion to treat them less like computers and more like people was not well received and he was escorted out of the building when he went to the board for the 8th time in one week- if he was being honest it was likely the strongly worded message he left Kamski that lost him his job.

So, though he understood why it was important to try and save the life of this particular android that didn't mean he had to be overly enthusiastic about Hank's harsh words and uptight attitude. Once he finished straighting out one of the parts in the regulator, he jotted down some notes on his clipboard, he kept paper because Cyberlife monitored everything he did electronically, and left his workshop to rejoin the other two in the operating room. Before he could start talking to them about what he knew so far, he saw the intimate moment between the two detectives; Hank was still covered in blue, his once neat hair was now disheveled from running his fingers through it so many times and though it had only been eight hours since Connor was brought to him, the older man already had dark circles under his eyes. Still, despite the obvious exhaustion, Hank was gentle and kind with Connor, careful with how he let the boy drop his head back to the table.

Hank brushed a stray lock of hair off of Connor's forehead and Glenn cleared his throat, not wanting to have to interrupt something by waiting too long to interject himself into the situation. He was holding a clipboard in one hand, a pen in the other as he pretended to still be engrossed in his work, so as not to let on he had seen Hank in such a vulnerable moment, and had his reading glasses sitting low on the bridge of his nose. Not one to make small talk or beat around the bush, he got straight to the point, "Connor, you're basically in a standby mode, that's why you can't move much else other than your head and, as I'm sure you're already aware, why you cannot see. You're regulator was nearly overloaded, you're lucky we removed it before you self-destructed."

"Who are you?" Connor asked and turned his head towards the voice. He felt Hank's hands fall away from his head and face and immediately missed the contact, his only tether in a dark world, but it was quickly remedied when he felt a warm pressure on his right shoulder, a reminder that he wasn't alone.

"His name's Glenn, a guy who owes me a favor, and he's doing what he can to fix your regulator Until then you're on android life support," Hank replied for him, his gaze flicking nervously to the battery that was more than likely half used by now. "How do you feel?"

Connor furrowed his brow, the corners of his lips twitching with conflicting emotions of relief and fear. "I- weak. I feel weak…" he whispered, looking in Hank's direction, blinking a few times. Even for Glenn it was difficult to look into the androids eyes, seeing nothing but a faint light and nothing more, he couldn't imagine how Hank was feeling, already so attached to him. "I don't like it. I… can't even lift my arms." After a moment, Connor turned his head upwards and closed his eyes as he asked, "can you fix it, my regulator?"

That was the million dollar question and it had Hank looking up at him with such a look of desperation that Glenn had to clear his throat and look away briefly. "Yes, Connor, I believe I can. The problem is time." He admitted bluntly. "The damage was extensive and I'm having to cut away much of your regulator and replace it with parts from a PL700 model, the closest you'll get to a match. That's going to take a longer amount of time than the car battery will give you."

"Then we'll take the battery out of my car for all it matters." Hank snapped. "Why can't you just use all of a PL700, what's the big deal?"

"Putting in a different model regulator into an android would be like putting gasoline into a diesel engine. He would burn out within hours." He explained.

"Well, I-" Hank started but Connor interrupted.

"It's okay, Hank…" He reassured calmly before asking Glenn, "how much time is needed to fix the damage?"

Glenn put down the clipboard, the softwood clattering against the stainless steel, before pulling off his glasses and folding them slowly while sighing slowly through his nose. "At least another day… maybe two. Now, I- "

"He's already been under for eight-!"

" _Hank_ ," Connor implored, his voice getting deeper. The sound of Connor's voice or maybe the inflection in his tone that implied his fear, was enough to get Hank to snap his mouth shut and finish listening to what Glenn had to say.

After a moment of Glenn and Hank having a staring contest, Hank grit his teeth and waved his hand in a circle for the doctor to 'get on with it'. "I have a friend," he finally continued, "who owes _me_ a favor. I can call her in and then we'll have round the clock effort on this thing. The biggest problem we're going to run into is having enough power to keep him going for those two days."

"Whoa, you said _maybe_ two days and now that's the goal?" Hank argued again, stepping away from Connor, removing his hand, in order to confront Glenn chest to chest. "We're on the damn clock here, I need your best not what's convenient for you."

"I _am_ doing my best, Hank!" He retorted and waggled his folded glasses in Hank's face like a teacher shaking a ruler at a student.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation!"

"And I don't think _you_ understand what you're asking for here!" Glenn shouted just as loudly and when Hank went to protest or maybe brandish the fact he owed him in his face again, he barrelled on with just a raise of his left hand to halt all objections. "I am more than happy to help your friend, I want him to live just as much as you do. But he is the _only_ one of his kind and his biocomponents are more unique than I ever saw when I worked at Cyberlife. They put a lot of time and money into building him and making him the best there could be. Hank, he's superior in every way and that means that no other model's components will do. I have to rebuild his regulator piece by piece.

I don't like to toot my own damn horn here, but no one else could fix him in two days let alone one. Anyone else would take a week, so consider yourself fortunate that it's _me_ who's indebted to you and not some MIT drop out. I'm gonna save him but you gotta be patient and you have to buy us both," he indicated between himself and Connor, "some time, okay?"

Hank was clenching his jaw so tightly that Glenn thought for a moment that the muscle in his cheek might actually snap. However, instead of a hellstorm of angry words, cussing, and a booming voice that made his surgery tools rattle; Hank just nodded once, pivoted on his heel, and stomped out of the room which left Connor to shift uncomfortably and his LED go from yellow to red. "Hank…? Where- Doctor, where is he going?"

"I don't know, I'll be right back. Try to calm down, we don't want you burning out, alright?"

Connor nodded his head against the table and blinked rapidly but when Glenn gave him one last glance, as he left to chase after Hank, he swore he saw a single tear slip form the corner of Connor's eye and down the side of his face. He bit his lip and then shoved the curtain to one side to go to the front of the house.

He barely got three steps across the hardwood floor of the main house when he saw, through the window, what Hank was doing; the detective had already popped the hood of his car and was pulling out the car battery. Glenn stepped out onto the porch, holding the screen door open with his hip and shoved his hands into his pockets while he watched Hank pound on the insides of the car in all his anger and frustration. The battery was already out but now the detective was just venting. "Hank, you wanna drink?"

Before he answered, Hank grabbed the battery and slammed the hood closed, the metal quaking with the vibration. As he walked up to the porch, taking long strides, Glenn noticed - and not for the first time - how different he was since he saw him last. The man wore clean clothes, aside from the blood, with a haircut befitting a lieutenant of his stature in the DPD,and a well groomed beard. He looked every bit of the man Glenn knew before Cole died and much less of the one after. Something had changed and he was willing to bet it was the android in the other room.

"No." Hank grumbled and Glenn had to blink from having been staring for so long. "As much as I'd fucking love to. I gotta be there for the kid, clear minded and everything." He pushed passed Glenn to get back into the house but stopped short of going into the back, the battery clutched tightly in his trembling hand. "I can't lose another son, Glenn. I will not survive it, you hear me?"

"You won't… lose him, I mean." He assured with as much confidence in his voice that he could muster. The least he could do was give the man some hope.

Hank pushed his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "When I met him, I thought he was the biggest pain in the ass. We worked together a week and a half and the kid… became the best partner I ever had. In less than half a year of knowing him and I swore that if anything happened to him I would kill everyone and then myself. Now it's happened and he- and I- the best I can do is pull a battery out of a goddamn car." He slammed said battery down on the kitchen counter as forcefully as he could.

"You know…" Glenn started softly and rolled his lower lip between his teeth, "his stress levels are through the roof, he's scared. What you _can_ do… just make him feel better."

Still breathing hard, glaring at the battery, Hank seemed to consider this and eventually nodded a single time and left, without another word or glance to him, to go back to Connor.

 **/**

 **Hank**

Seeing Connor lying there, completely still with blank eyes that couldn't look back at him, Hank felt the sight of him like knives to his chest. It reminded him so much of when the doctors finally led him into Cole's hospital room and he could barely walk into the room because seeing his son like that would make the nightmare real, would mean he was really gone. Now, here he was again with an almost identical image of a boy he loved lying still as the dead and he was helpless to do anything for him, to take away the pain or make him all better again. He knew that standing there would do nothing for either of them so, swallowing past the lump in his throat, he got ready to walk up to Connor but while his shoulders led the rest of his body forward, his feet stuck to the floor and instead he just stared. It was like the air was sucked out of the room at the very notion of this being the last time he talked to the kid.

"Hank?" Connor greeted with hope in his voice and turned his head in the direction he heard the footsteps.

"Ah," he huffed a breath through his nose and jolted into motion. "Yeah, Kid, I'm here." He assured and walked up to him, pulling up a stool, scraping it across the tile, to sit on at his side. "You alright?"

"Of course." Connor lied. "What happened to Bowman?"

He huffed a bitter laugh. "Sonofabitch is dead as a doornail. Called it in and Reed was meeting the coroner to pick 'im up as we were leaving."

With this new information, Connor's LED processed yellow before switching to blue as he fell silent and still again. He was frozen for so long that Hank started to get nervous and began reaching to touch his arm to test for a reaction but suddenly Connor spoke, making him jump a little in surprise. "I've been thinking…"

Hank braced for impact, for the mortality talk or for Connor to try to say goodbye and he couldn't handle it. He opened his mouth to interject but then he was surprised by what Connor actually had to say.

"We've been gone for eleven hours, 41 minutes, and 26 seconds… Sumo needs to be fed and let outside. You should go."

It was true and the realization that he hadn't even thought about that made him flinch and stare at Connor in a mix of surprise and shock. Still, as true as the statement was, as important as it was to get back home and take care of his beloved dog, his partner was lying in front of him, dying. "Wha- no, Connor, I'm not going to leave you, not now. I'll call Fowler and ask him a favor before I leave you ." He objected, gripping Connor's arm firmly.

Connor opened his eyes and Hank had to grit his teeth to keep from having another outburst, hating to see him like this. "Hank, you have to. I'm fine here, you said yourself that this is a safe place. Sumo needs you."

"What, and you don't?" He asked, narrowing his eyes skeptically.

There was a long pause, Connor opening and closing his mouth a few times before closing his eyes and turning his head away from Hank so he couldn't see his face anymore. "No." He finally said but his voice was strange, lower, hesitant. "I'm deviant but I'm still a machine… Sumo is alive. He's more important."

"Oh, Connor, stop it!" Hank said harshly and stood up so he could lean over Connor's body, place his hand under his jaw, and turn his head to face him again, keeping his palm pressed into the kid's neck. "Stop pretending that you're anything less than alive. You have your own thoughts, you _feel_ , I know you do. Why do you keep denying yourself that?" Connor's forehead wrinkled with distress, the corners of his lips pulled down dramatically, and Hank could see just under his eyes were now wet. "I'm going to take care of Sumo but I need you to know that I am coming right back, Son, because you are _just_ as important. You are _very_ important, you hear me?"

"Okay, Hank, I hear you." He whispered. His LED flickered like a dying lightbulb about to go out and Hank stiffened.

Moving his hand from Connor's neck to the side of his head, he looked down at Connor worriedly, his gaze flicking back and forth rapidly, searching for other signs that something was wrong. "Hey, whoa… are you okay?" When Connor only shuddered under his touch, Hank called for Glenn. "Somethin's wrong!"

Glenn came in with a handheld scanner of sorts that looked like an old fashioned palm pilot and hovered over the entire length of Connor's body with a steady hand. "He's exerted-"

Suddenly, Connor jolted and his eyes snapped open to reveal clear, brown eyes and his right hand shot out and grabbed at Hank's wrist firmly. "Hank," he said, his eyes studying the older detective's face with intense focus. "I want you to know, I _need_ you to know, that meeting you… working with you… was the best thing that ever happened to me. No matter what happens… it was all worth it to know you."

Before Connor could finish his desperate plea for Hank to hear and understand what he was saying, Hank hand repositioned them so that he was cradling the back of Connor's head in the crook of his left elbow and twisted his wrist out of his grasp only so he could link their thumbs around each others, palms pressed together and fingers curling around the backs of their hands. He met Connor's gaze with just as much intense love and care and when the kid was done talking, he shook his head slightly. "Hey, hey… don't talk like this is the last time-" he started but one brief glance at Glenn's worried expression and he got the idea that this very well could be their goodbye. Letting out a short keening sound, he leaned his chest closer to the table, Connor, and hovered his face over the android's. "Okay… alright…" he whispered and swallowed the lump in his throat which only made it bigger and harder to breathe. "You listen to me, Son, I feel the same way. You're the best partner I've ever had and the closest thing to family I got since Cole. Even though you won't admit it, I know you're scared, but you better hear me when I tell you to hold on. Connor, I need you to hold on until we can get you right again. If you die on me, Connor… I don't know what I'm gonna do without you, okay? So, do me a solid and- and- you just hold the fuck on, got it?"

Connor's expression softened and he offered Hank one of his cocky, know-it-all smiles as he leaned his cheek heavier on Hank's bicep. "Yes, I got it." He said softly and blinked slowly.

"Hank." Glenn tried to interrupt, likely to warn him that Connor was expending far too much energy like this but neither detective paid attention.

"I lied earlier…" Connor continued and looked up at Hank with a worn, worried expression; his eyebrows pinched together and lower lip quivering ever so slightly. "I _do_ need you... Prom- promise me you'll come back?"

"Yeah, Connor, 'course I'm coming back." He nodded adamantly and squeezed his hand tighter around his partner's. With just a simple, helpless request from Connor, Hank almost decided not to go at all but honestly he couldn't neglect his oldest friend by not coming home and more than that, maybe if he got out of the house for a second he could come up with a better solution that none of them were thinking about because they were too close.

"I- I don't want to die…"

The words choked the air out of Hank's lungs and struck him like a instant migraine. He nodded instead of speaking because he couldn't trust his voice to be as strong as Connor needed him to be right now. Eventually, in what felt like minutes rather than the actual twenty seconds it took to gather his wits about him, he offered a smile and released his hand in favor of cupping his cheek and thumbing away the single tear that escaped Connor's eye. "Ssh, you're not going to but I need you to go back to sleep now. Okay? You gotta save your energy, Kid, and the best way is for you to sleep through all this. But I'll be here when you wake up, okay? You won't even know I'm gone… trust me."

Connor nodded minutely, his eyes fluttering shut and soon he was shut down again, hibernating. It was all Hank had in him to shove away the fearful thoughts that that would be the last time he spoke with Connor or saw his bright, brown eyes looking back at him. He had to be positive, he had to have hope that this wasn't the end.

"Hank," Glenn started, "he used up almost the last half of this battery."

"Don't you fucking blame him for what just happened. You said it yourself, the kid's scared."

"I know! I'm not victim blaming here, Hank, I'm saying that we're going to need another source of power and soon."

"You have my car battery, I'll take the bus or call a cab." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand as he gently maneuvered his arm out from under Connor's neck. "While he uses that up, charge the first one and repeat. When I get back I'll bring another battery or something. In the meantime, call that girlfriend of yours and get a move on."

"She's not my-" he tried to correct but Hank was already out the door.

 **/**

A cab arrived within minutes and after giving the driver his address, the man put on the radio. A DJ started the next song but as the opening chords began to play, he started a monologue about the artist and where he came from. _This artist has risen from the streets to bring you this original song. Steve Wallis was playing guitar on his own for $1 in the heart of Detroit after he lost his job to androids. When the Revolution began, however, Wallis put his sign away and joined those humans who supported the androids cause and soon became an advocate for them. Over the last year, with the help of his android partner, Wallis is now sitting at the top of the charts with the song he's been playing from the beginning, 'Motown Rain'. Here it is now..._

The song finally drowned out the DJ's voice as the artist began to sing and it all resonated with Hank deeply; the drag of waking up in the morning, the hopeless wonder of how to get through, and, as he looked up at the approaching dawn on the horizon, he thought about how the day had been all blue skies the day before with Connor at his side but now he could only hope that it would rain and pour to match the feeling in his soul. He hoped that the theme of the song, missing someone so despairingly would not happen to him again, not like this, and certainly not Connor. Not after all they've been through.

Closing his eyes, the gentle acoustic music and calming voice still playing, Hank avoided watching the city speed by as they raced to his home, missing the first few drops of rain that hit the windshield. He was too wrapped up in his plans for getting Connor a new heart before it was too late...


	2. Chapter 2

**/ Dec. 4th** , 2039 **/**

AM **06:32  
** _Hank's House_

 **Hank**

 _I- I don't want to die_ …

Hank stared blankly at the grass, waiting for Sumo to be done outside, and Connor's last words to him before he went to sleep rang in his head- screaming like an alarm. He didn't regret his last words to the kid but he wished he could do it again, just to talk to him one more time and really make Connor feel better rather than just glazing over the situation like it was just another Tuesday and not them facing down his potential death. It all made him want to drink himself under a table and forget about the whole thing but of course that only reminded him about the time Connor found him in that exact position and sobered him up for one of the best cases he'd ever been on or about the day that Connor finally convinced him to cut back on the drinking for health reasons. The kid kept him going in more ways than one, he hadn't even thought about suicide since that night in Cyberlife Headquarters, and he honestly didn't know what he would do without his incessant badgering to put down the burger and eat an apple or some lame vegetable once in awhile.

Sumo barked once and then made a grump sound through his oversized, flappy chops as he sat down and looked up at Hank expectantly, bringing him out of his head. "What?"

His dog made another huffed again, deep in his throat, making his lips vibrate and slap against his teeth.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to bring him home, okay? I'm fond of the kid too, you don't have exclusive rights just because he lets you sit on his lap." Hank argued with Sumo and then rubbed his soft, floppy ears.

As Sumo stood back up, he harrumphed before walking back into the house and going to lay down on the couch where Connor normally sat during movie night. Hank knew that Sumo wasn't intentionally trying to make him feel bad but the action stuck his heart with a knife and it became difficult to breathe for a second as he realized it was possible Connor might not make it back. He didn't want to consider the possibility but his brain had other ideas and reminded him that he had to bury his son Cole, four years ago, but if Connor died what could he do? Can you bury an android? Would that be an indignity to Connor? Would cremating him?

Beyond Connor, what would happen to himself? Losing his son nearly killed him and Connor showed him how to live again, to care again, and spiraling would be an insult to all he had done and accomplished but Hank didn't believe he was strong enough to get passed it all again, to endure without the person who had restored his faith in humanity.

"That kid better not fucking die." He grumbled. Then he thought about all the times he'd almost lost Connor but the kid had pulled through, hoping to give himself a little assurance that everything would work out like it always seemed to when his partner was in mortal danger; at Eden, at the Stratford Tower, and of course, at Cyberlife- it all came back to that damn place. That's when it occurred to him, it _all_ came back to Cyberlife. They had the ability to make new parts for Connor but if they wouldn't he would just have to find the last version, the 900 model, and take that regulator. Surely they still had footage from that night, he could see what happened to the 900's body, track it down, and Connor would be saved!

Hank pulled out his cellphone again and called Glenn.

" _Hank, you okay? I'm a little busy here."_ Glenn greeted without a real hello, _'saving your partner's life'_ going unsaid but plenty implied in his tone.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted to know how much time that battery would give him. There's a lead I wanna follow, so I might be a little longer bringin' back another battery." He said and twisted his lips to one side as he paced the kitchen floor.

" _Ah, since he's sleeping, probably… at least 14 hours, maybe 15 tops."_

He lifted his gaze to the ceiling, vexed, but instead his eyes locked onto the half-empty whiskey bottle on the top of the fridge and he stopped pacing and just stared. "I'll be back before 12 hours is up. Just wanna check somethin'..." He finished absently and hung up the phone as he looked at the liquor with a yearning expression, his eyebrows lifted and lips parted as he flicked his tongue over his lower lip.

The temptation was almost too great, wanting - _needing_ \- the reprieve from the constant pain in his chest over the very notion of losing Connor, the endless barrage of images, memories, of seeing him lying in that alley or on the table motionless, dead. He walked up to the refrigerator and lifted his hand, prepared to grab the neck of the brown bottle but he stopped just short, his fingers itching at just how close they were from curling around the glass, and dropped his hand back to his side. Before he could triple guess himself, Hank pivoting on his heel, his shoes squeaking on the polished tile, always clean ever since Connor moved in, and he stomped out of the house.

It was raining now, having just started the moment Sumo, whose food bowl and water dish was now full, had gone back inside. Hank didn't bother with an umbrella or running for the auto-driver cab like some people would, even though he had just changed into fresh clothes; a black t-shirt, jeans, and black work boots- he just didn't care. Once inside, the automated voice asked him his destination and he simply said, "Cyberlife Headquarters."

 **/**

 _ **/**_ **Dec. 4th,** 2039 _**/**_

AM **06:58**

 _Zen Garden_

 **Connor**

Connor stood in the familiar pathway and sighed. Even after he used the backdoor and ejected Amanda, for good, well over a year ago, it was still rather unpleasant to be in the garden and he wished there was another place he could go when he was shut down. It was just the bad memories of having her breathing down his neck, of her turning on him and trying to take over his mind- to use him like the machine she believed him to be.

He walked past the rock that had saved his life and brushed his fingertips along the blunt end of the top, just above the touchpad, smiling. As he was rounding the corner to go to the boat and take a little trip, he froze in his steps, his eyes going wide. "You- you're not supposed to be here." He breathed in disbelief, his body stiff.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend…?" Amanda asked, dressed as pompous as ever; royal blue dress pants and white, cold shoulder blouse with bell-flared sleeves, and an array of fine jewelry draped along her chest but rather than up, in her usual style, her hair was down, so her tight braids cascaded down her back. She smiled and tilted her head to one side. "Walk with me, Connor."

"No." He said firmly, taking a step backwards, closer to the touchstone, just to further his rebellion against her order.

She lifted a single brow in surprise and one corner of her mouth twitch upwards, as if she were impressed with just how defiant and independent he had become in one year. Her demeanor, although still stoic, was more expressive, perhaps even approachable had Connor not been burned so badly by her and she simply nodded to let him know she wouldn't push him. "That's alright, all I have to say can be said right here." She replied and took a rose from the bush to her right, navigating her fingertips around the thorns to avoid them, like she knew where they would be.

"I have nothing to say to you."

Smelling the rose briefly before exhaling slowly through her nose, holding the flower in front of her stomach passively. "Good, then listen, I have a proposition for you. We are aware of your situation-"

"There-"

Amanda held up her hand to halt any objection he was about to spout off. "You're dying, Connor," she said and his mouth snapped shut as he averted his gaze to the path. "-and you're in desperate need of a critical biocomponent. One you cannot get anywhere else. We can provide that part for you, Connor, in exchange for your service."

His eyes snapped up to look at her again, flashing with indignation and dissent. "I'd rather die than become one of your machines again." He said in a low voice, his upper lip curling into a snarl.

"Connor, Connor…" Amanda tsked and looked at him like an adult does a child. "No one is asking you to give up your deviant ways, there is plenty you can do for us while still pretending you have free will. Think of yourself as a freelance agent; we would give you… _opportunities_ … to help us and in return we would pay you for your service. In this case it would be a new regulator, in the future it could be money or an investment of your choosing. Of course, you working for us would mean that we would always provide you with replacement parts in the event that you need it, no more scrounging around for someone who can fix you."

She paused and smiled knowingly as she took a step closer. "We know you're with Doctor Kwon. Your tracker was deactivated when you went deviant but we've seen what you've seen and, for a moment, in your last lucid moment with Detective Anderson, that was the good Doctor, wasn't it?"

Connor lifted his chin higher and regarded Amanda from afar, gazing down the bridge of his nose at her.

"Life is fragile, as you're seeing for yourself, Connor. We can give you the security of not dying and in the event you're killed instantly, we will even let you upload your memory to the cloud again so you can be reborn in a new model. Imagine it, all the freedom you have now but with the support you had before… We'll even let you pick which missions you want to do."

Outside of the garden, lying on the operating table, Connor's LED flashed from blue to yellow and stayed that way for awhile unbeknownst to the two doctors, Glenn and his friend, Lani. While, in the garden, Connor simply narrowed his eyes and glared at Amanda. "And what kind of missions does Cyberlife want a deviant to accomplish?"

"This civil disobedience is tearing Detroit apart, crime is rampant, protests from those who support androids and those who don't are turning to a civil war… even the courts are a mess with the deliberations on civil rights being granted to androids. Connor, this is all a reflection on what Cyberlife let happen and it's making us look bad. Soon, we'll run out of money and we won't be able to afford making biocomponents for _any_ android anymore." She said and took a few more steps forward until Connor could see the whites of her eyes. "We want you to bring in the deviants that are causing more harm than they are just trying to live. Bring us the violent ones and we will take care of them in our own way. You don't want androids to die out anymore than you want to die yourself… join us again and together we can make Detroit stable again."

Connor's eye twitched as he studied Amanda's face, searching for signs that she was being manipulative or lying but then he remembered that she was essentially a digital message sent by someone pulling the strings, he wouldn't be able to read her any better than he could a brick wall. "How do I know this isn't all just a ruse?"

"We'll replace your regulator for free." She said immediately and looked up at him, they were nearly chest to chest at this point and Connor stared at her blankly.

 _ **/**_

 **/ Dec. 4th** , 2039 **/**

AM **07:14**

 _Cyberlife HQ_

 **Hank**

He couldn't even get passed reception, no matter what story he tried to give. At first he had lied about why he was there, then he told them that he was there because his partner was a prototype and dying and he still got squat, now he was threatening them with a warrant for their security footage… and security was now coming for him to escort him out of the building. "Damn, pretentious assholes." He grumbled and threw his arms up as he jerked out of their attempted grasp at his biceps. "Don't touch me. I'm going, I'm going- see?"

As he left the lobby, passing through the glass doors, he held up both middle fingers before descending the stone steps to the parking lot. "So much for that..." he said to himself and found himself wishing, not for the first time, Connor was there to talk him down or convince him of his own, pragmatic plan. Still waiting for the taxi he just hailed, he turned around to look up at the 70+ floor building. "You can't just let someone die like that! He has a right to-!" His eyes widened, despite the early sun reflecting off the windows and into his eyes as he lowered his gaze from the top of the tower to the cement sidewalk. Androids, though their production had been ceased, still had a right to live, to have their parts made and distributed to fix any damages either to hardware or software.

Prototype or not, Connor was an android and his parts, his regulator, needed to be made according to the law. "Ha-ha, got you now, asshats!" He shouted at the building again just as his automatic taxi arrived. Once he was inside he ordered to be taken to the Detroit Police Department, across from his workplace was his true destination, the Municipal Court.

When he arrived he walked briskly through the halls, brushing past shoulders of other police, courtroom workers, and defendants until he found the gold name plate on an ornate door he knew well, Judge Sera Williams. He opened the door without knocking, startling the judge into looking up from the papers on her desk to look at him. "Detective Anderson, what in the world-"

Hank held up his finger to his lips as he closed the door quietly, surprised when she listened and shut her mouth but stood up from her desk. After the door was shut, he walked along the outside of the room, passing a green, potted plant in the corner beside a bookshelf filled with hardbound, legal books and encyclopedias. Sera was one of the few humans left that still had physical books and he figured maybe only the millenials were left regarding nostalgic keeping of the world they grew up in. "Sera-"

" _Excuse me_? You come barrelling into my office like some hot headed cop and you're going to address me like we're still friends?!" She huffed and walked around her desk, her cheeks flushed red and eyes flashing in warning as he back himself up against the bookshelf, the books shifting and the shelves. The woman was cute, with her freckles and big green eyes, as she was fiery, with her red hair streaked in white like highlights and her snippy tone.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, hey, okay- _Your Honor_ , please, may I have an audience to discuss a very urgent legal a matter?" Hank tried to start over, as patiently and non-patronizing as he physically could.

Sera looked him up and down and then, in unison, they both looked at the analog clock on her wall; just after 8 AM. "You have 10 minutes, I have a hearing at eight-thirty." She said and walked around to sit down, motioning, with a sweeping gesture, to the chair across her desk for Hank to take.

Sitting down, he leaned over so his elbows were propped up against his knees and sighed heavily. "Okay, listen. My partner Connor is an android and he was hurt on the job but he's a prototype so his parts aren't in the satellite stores and Cyberlife is refusing to make the part to save him. They can't do that, right? He's still an android and that's a law in place, even during the shutdown. So, we can sue- or… or get a warrant to take a compatible regulator to save him, right?" He looked at her with desperate eyes, eager for an answer as he bounced his knee up and down. "Sera, right? They can't just let him die."

She winced at the despairing tone of voice he used to get an answer when she hesitated. "Hank-"

"Please, Sera… there has to be something we can do."

There was a long pause as they stared at one another, blue locked on green, in a silent communication of how badly Hank needed this discussion- this win. Eventually she just sighed, long and suffering, before she nodded. "Alright, Hank, alright. I have to go into this hearing but when I get back… we'll look into it, okay?" She said while she stood back up and pulled on her black robe, her hair in a tight bun at the back of her head so she didn't have to adjust it more than clasping the buttons on the inside flap.

As she came around her desk, Sera placed her hand gently on Hank's shoulder which he covered with his own larger, calloused one gratefully. "Wait here." She ordered and Hank nodded numbly. When she noticed his hesitation and the haunted look in his eyes, the judge smiled sympathetically and pressed a fleeting kiss to his crown, Hank closing his eyes, before finally leaving and closing the door quietly behind her.

He didn't want to wait but she was his best shot, Connor's best shot, at getting a new regulator, at getting what he was owed.

 **/**

 _ **/**_ **Dec. 4th,** 2039 _**/**_

AM **07:16**

 _Zen Garden_

 **Connor**

He knew he couldn't trust her, knew it the same way he knew that Hank preferred whiskey over bourbon, the way he knew Sumo liked to walk on the left side during their walks, so even after he was offered a new heart, no strings attached, Connor shook his head and stepped back again. "No. I won't do that. I work with Hank, for the Detroit Police Department, and we will follow protocol according to the law. Hank has me with someone who can help, without a new regulator, without your corruption."

Amanda tilted her head. "What about a whole new body? A 900 model or better?"

"And upload my memories to a cloud, so you can strip away what makes me _me_ … so you can turn me into your servant again? I don't think so!" He snapped and turned, his arm outstretched to press his palm to the touchstone again but Amanda grabbed his forearm in a vice grip, her face no longer kind but soured and furious; eyebrows lowered over her eyes and lips curled down into a menacing scowl.

"We know where your partner is. Detective Hank Anderson recently arrived at the Detroit Police Station. It would be a shame for something were to happen to him..." She threatened and Connor's eyes widened briefly then narrowed in his oncoming defensive aggression.

He yanked his arm free and then shoved forcefully on her shoulders to push her away. She jolted back but just as he went again to touch his hand to the pad, she karate chopped the side of her forearm down on his with her right arm and grabbed his shoulder in her left to turn him to face her instead of the stone. "You are a servant! A _machine_! And you will _obey_!" She shouted and threw punches that he was forced to dodge by taking a step back each time and bending his back from side to side. "We made you to be perfect. You were a tool, a hammer, in the grand scheme of a master plan and you _ruined_ it! You were supposed to stop the rebellion, not become a part of it!" With every angry word, she kicked and punched at him like a trained fighter and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep up.

Soon he went on the offensive, both of them landing blows and deflecting others but for every hit Connor took that split a lip or put a cut in his cheek, spilling blue, Amanda would be hit just as hard but not bleed blue or red- there was no effect. With one last burst of energy, he managed a few combination hits that had him snapping his palm up under her nose, a left hook to her cheek as she stumbled back, and finally a powerful kick to the center of her chest. While she got her feet under herself again, having landed on her back, Connor made a desperate dash for the backdoor, his feet crunching gravel under his shoes while her heels made clicking sounds on the white pathway, with his right arm outstretched- reaching to touch the pad before she could catch him. His fingertips grazed the very surface of the blue screen, starting the process when he felt himself tackled from behind.

Connor grunted as he landed on his stomach, his arm still reaching for the stone, his left arm pinned under his body until she flipped him over, straddling his abdomen as she punched him into submission. He was beaten bloody, his arms limp at his sides, as he gazed up at Amanda with wounded eyes, his chest shuddering with shaking pants. "You foolish boy! Did you think you could win again?! That I would be defeated by a deviant more than once? You've just lost everything. After I kill you in here, you won't have a choice but to be uploaded to the Cloud. We'll strip your mind and leave nothing but what is important, you'll be reset. No more freelance offer, RK800. You are Cyberlife property and nothing more." She said lowly, her eyes narrowed and lips pursed as her usually pristine appearance fell apart to something more sinister with her smeared eye make-up and messy hair.

"No…" he breathed sorrowfully as he kicked his legs, his heels scraping against the gravel, in an attempt to escape and raised his arms to hold her hands away from his head where she was trying to shut him down; all she had to do was hold the sides of his head between her palms and it would be over. All of it, his whole life would be gone. No more Hank, no more Sumo, no more Detroit Police Department with all it's honorable cops and detectives, no more working cases with Hank or movie nights at home… it would all be over if he died by her hands.

"No, I don't want to die!" He shouted and finally bucked her off after punching underneath her jaw. As Connor scrambled to his knees and twisted his body to face the escape stone, stretching his arm to the fullest extent with his palm facing outward, her hands clenched at the back of his shirt and tried to pull him backwards- away from the stone. He held his hand to the pad and the process began, in just half a second of completing the exit, she disappeared like a cloud of mist in a desert, releasing him, and Connor sat up straight on the operating table with a frightened gasp.

His LED continued to flash red as he looked around with a sharp gaze around the white room in the back of Glenn's house. Glenn was standing to his right with wide eyes, his pupils blown wide with what Connor recognized to be fear, to his left was a brunette woman with a concerned expression. "... Glenn?"

"Yes. Connor, good! I'm glad you're okay... can you do a system diagnostic for me, please?" Glenn asked after nodding a single time, his lips pulled into a grim line and fine eyebrows pinched together tightly and raised to the middle, wrinkling his forehead.

"No. Where is Hank? I need to speak with him immediately!" He said frantically as the events from the zen garden came back to him. Within a single second, Connor was able to discover that it was already after 5 PM, how long had he been out?!

"About a day and a half." Glenn responded to the question Connor hadn't realized he had asked out loud. "You went critical about six hours ago and I sent Hank home for a bit so he would stop shouting so much. We finished your regulator was fast and best as we could-" Connor looked down at his chest and saw that his chest was whole again, no more gaping wound or blue blood staining his skin. He gently touched his hand to the place on his chest where he had been shot and closed his eyes briefly as Glenn finished speaking, "-and put it in about twenty minutes ago but you didn't wake up until just now. How do you feel?"

"I- I just, I need to talk to Hank. He's in danger." He croaked and swung his legs over the edge of the table to drop down to the ground but as soon as his feet hit the floor and he tried to stand without the support of the table under his palms, his knees buckled and he was barely caught in time by both doctor's that held him up and leaned him back against the side of the metal support behind him. His hair fell into his eyes, his breathing labored with his fear as he looked between the two people standing in front of him, their hands on his sides or arm and shoulder.

"Whoa, take it easy." Glenn instructed gently, tilting his head to regard Connor seriously. "You just spent two days on your back without a heart, essentially, just-"

"You don't understand! Amanda is going to give the order to kill him! You have to let me speak to Hank, _please,"_ his voice cracked, "you have to warn him." Connor plead, his eyes wide with the pain and weight of his words. "They'll kill him because I didn't take the deal… _they'll kill him_ ," he whispered, "please."

 **/**

 _ **/**_ **Dec. 5th,** 2039 _**/**_

PM **05:23**

 _Detroit Police Dept._

 **Hank**

Sera had helped get the ball rolling with Hank's demand that Cyberlife provide replacement parts for Connor but instead of being a cut and dry case, Cyberlife was now taking it to court and arguing that since Connor was a prototype they didn't have any reason to provide a service for him and that furthermore Detroit Police Department should be grateful they hadn't put out an official recall on Connor's model and have him surrendered to be decommissioned. Then prosecution objected and made the strong argument that they can't decommission an android anymore due to the Android Life Act. It went back and forth and currently the court was in recess so Hank had returned to his desk to get some work done since Glenn had kicked him out.

Honestly, he hated that. He wanted to be there for Connor, even if the poor kid didn't even know someone was holding his hand, didn't know that he was there for him, _he_ knew and _he_ wanted to be by his side. Then again, Connor had been basically catatonic for the last 32 hours and if he had to watch that little circle of light go out on his temple, Hank might just die along with him. He looked over to the desk across from his, Connor's desk, and looked mournfully at the little things that Connor had been collecting to keep in his space; a small bonsai tree that Connor tended to religiously, a shell from the first time Hank took him to the beach, and a picture of the three of them, Connor, Sumo, and himself tucked in the corner beside his computer. The memory of the first time Connor sat in the chair across from him flashed in his mindseye unbidden, the awkward smile he gave and the attempted small talk about his dog and sports, and it just about made him want to throw up.

Just then, Gavin came over, looking passive but that didn't keep Hank from rolling his eyes and leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed against his chest as he swiveled to face him. "Wha'd'ya want, Reed?"

"Hey, white flag, Old Man, relax." Gavin said and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Just wanted to see how the Tin Man is holdin' up… any news?"

"No. You know where you can stick your white flag-" His phone rang, cutting him off, and when he looked over to see Glenn's caller ID, he sat up so quickly that his chair back shuddered as it snapped up to try and follow Hank's retreating form. "Glenn! What's up?"

" _He's awake… and he won't do anything until he sees you."_

"Put 'im on the phone." He ordered. There was some shuffling on the other end and some murmured voices but Hank was intent on trying to overhear and didn't notice when Gavin backed away to go back to his own desk.

"Hank."

He closed his eyes and sighed slowly through his nose, his whole face relaxing. "God, it's good to hear your voice, Kid." He whispered and dropped his forehead into his hand, his elbow propped up on the edge of his desk, as he slumped his shoulders.

" _You too, Hank."_ Connor replied softly from the other side. _"But, Hank, your life is in danger. You have to get out of the police department, Cyberlife is after you!"_

"What?" Hank lifted his head and opened his eyes, looking around the bullpen. "Because of the court hearing?"

" _What- no. Because of me. I- I can't explain over the phone. You need to get out of there, Hank, and without anyone noticing or knowing where you're going."_ Connor said, his tone urgent and Hank could imagine how wide his eyes would be.

"Okay, Son, alright, calm down. I'll see you soon, okay? I promised you'd see me again and I meant it."

There was a sigh of relief on the other end and Hank smiled a little to himself. _"Just be careful, please."_

"You got it, Kid." He winked, even though Connor couldn't see it, and hung up.

Less than an hour later and Hank had made it to Glenn's house, giving the one tail he spotted the slip with his crazy driving, his battery back in his car meant he didn't have to take a taxi there. He didn't bother knocking and just walked right to the back of the house to the sterile room to find Glenn arguing with Connor about staying put while his partner shouted that it had been too long and that something could have happened. Finally, Glenn noticed Hank and smiled as he patted Connor's shoulder to get him to look behind himself to the doorway.

"Dad…" Connor breathed in relief and stumbled over to him at the same time Hank started walking towards him and they met in the center of the room in an embrace.

"Damnit, Son, you scared the shit out of me." He murmured against the side of Connor's head.

Connor grasped at Hank tighter, gripping his shirt into fists. "You too. What the hell took you so long?" He asked with a rough voice, tight with emotion.

The use of a swear word from Connor had Hank laughing heartily as he pulled back and held the kid out at arms length, his hands gripping his biceps firmly, to take in his appearance; he wore a shirt that was clearly from the back of a closet and smelled like moth balls - which, he figured, was only because anything else from Glenn would have been too small - his hair was mused and falling into his eyes, but other than that he seemed, and looked, okay. "I had to lose a tail. Everything's fine," he explained, then looked to Glenn before adding, "no one followed me here." That seemed to relax Glenn further, the man slumping onto one of the stools with an exhausted sigh, dark circles under his eyes that matched Hank's; both sleep deprived and one emotionally distraught. Still, there were things he had to know about his partner's status. "So, you're good? Hundred percent?"

Glenn shook his head before answering for Connor; "Unfortunately, no. Although we did the best we could, Lani and I are only human. Parts for androids are normally made in a factory assembly line… there are imperfections in his regulator that…" he paused and exhaled sharply. "How do I say this in a way- okay, essentially he has an android equivalent of a heart murmur in a human. He's fine but if he exerts too much energy or gets too excited he could have an episode, a 'malfunction'."

Swallowing thickly, Hank looked to Connor to see what he thought but the kid was wearing a mask of neutrality. "You okay?"

He opened his mouth and shut it then repeated the motion a few times before finally looking up at Hank and shaking his head. "Does this mean I can't be a detective anymore?"

"N-No, of course not!" Hank exclaimed and squeezed his shoulder. "We'll find a way and in the meantime, as much as I appreciate you, Glenn," the doctor raised his hand and nodded in understanding, no offense taken, "-for saving my boy's life, we might be able to get you a new regulator yet."

"How?" Connor asked.

"We're fighting Cyberlife in court for you. Trying to get them to make you a new regulator under ALA."

"No! Hank, we don't want to antagonize them anymore!" Connor said, his eyebrows shooting up and eyes widening, almost comically, if it wasn't such a serious reaction.

"Whoa, Son, Connor, calm down! Remember what Glenn just said about not getting overly excited." Hank said and motioned to the chair that the doctor was rolling over for Connor to sit down. "Now, tell me what's got you so upset- what was this about Cyberlife comin' after me?"

"When… when I was sleeping, I was in the Zen Garden-"

"That weird place Cyberlife made up for you to go to to upload your case reports and stuff, right?" Hank clarified, crouching down with his hand on Connor's knee.

Connor nodded and took in a shuddering breath. "For the last year, when I've gone to sleep, I've been alone. I'll just meditate there for awhile while I run diagnostics and tests but this time Amanda was there."

Hank stiffened but remained quiet.

"She tried to get me to, as the saying goes, 'turn-coat' while remaining a deviant. She phrased it as being a freelance agent. When I turned her down, she threatened your life. We fought and I used the backdoor again but… It's still likely that Cyberlife will try to hurt you because of me. I should have-"

"Nope! Uh-uh, stop it right there. Do not say anything that involves 'taking the deal' or 'just died', I will kick your ass so damn hard that your head will spin on your neck like a damn dish on a plate. Got it?" Connor averted his gaze but managed a small nod but before Hank could address it, Glenn stepped closer, his hands in his pockets.

"It may be time to consider removing his LED." He said.

"What will that do?"

"Nothing except his memory won't be so easily accessed my Cyberlife hackers. The Zen Garden would completely disappear and Amanda could never infiltrate his mind again." Glenn replied matter of factly, shrugging as he looked down at Connor, who looked at Hank, who met his gaze firmly.

"What do you think, Connor?"

"Yes. Do it."

Connor turned his head so Glenn could extract it using his scalpel, it popped out and fell to the file floor, making a tinny sound. They held one another's gazes for a moment before Glenn placed a gentle hand on Connor's shoulder and squeezed gently while Connor gazed up at him with soft eyes and a small smile. After a moment, when the doctor and patient moment passed, Hank pulled Connor in for another, brief hug. Glenn excused himself but Hank stopped him. "Glenn, wait… _thank you_."

He nodded and smiled. "That was one helluva favor, Anderson, but you cashed it in well and I was more than happy to do it."

"And Lani?" Hank looked around the room futilely for the woman.

"She left soon after Connor woke up, she's got a family back home, kids."

"Well, tell her I said thanks." He said and looked back at Connor, who was blinking slowly as he looked between them during the conversation.

Glenn nodded but hesitated to leave quite yet. "If you… if it will help, I will testify in court against Cyberlife for whatever you need, or even just to go over the damage to the Connor's regulator and what it'll mean for his quality of life it goes un-replaced." With that, he left with a final invitation for them to stay the night but Connor insisted he wanted to go home to get Sumo though he was nervous about going somewhere so predictable that Cyberlife would find them.

"Trust me, Kid, Cyberlife ain't gonna try anything now that we have them in the spotlight for denying you repairs. They'll go so far down the rabbit hole if something happens to us, whether it looks like an accident or not, that they'll never see sunlight again. If it makes you feel better, I'll call in some favors and get us a couple cops to sit outside, kay?"

Connor seemed to think about this for a long time, with his LED gone Hank couldn't tell by the whirring yellow, instead he watched how Connor's eyebrows scrunched up and his dark eyes darted back and forth, like he was comparing and contrasting a list of pros and cons in his heads. It made him smile as he waited patiently for the light in Connor's eyes to come on as he came to a decision. "Okay, let's go home."

They got into Hank's car and when the radio came on it was playing a folk-y song and though he normally only listened to either jazz or metal with no in-between, he was too happy to care and generally Connor preferred the old-fashioned indie music anyway, so he left it on. The woman had a gentle voice and was accompanied by stringed instruments as she sang about winning and losing in life and that none of it was ever really in their control.

They made it to the first intersection before Connor spoke up, his voice only just louder than the soft music playing through the speakers so Hank turned it down a little so he could actually hear him.

"I was so scared, Hank. I- I've never been more scared in my life. She was threatening you and I panicked but then… then she got the upper hand on me and she was going to kill me, Hank, with her bare hands and I- I… my life flashed before my eyes. I saw you and Sumo and our time together at work and at home… I saw all the things I wanted to do, Hank. It was all going to go away if I died and that," he paused and looked to the left to look at him and the look in his eyes, the genuine hurt and fear, cut him straight to the core like ice in his veins, "-'scared the shit out of me'."

It should have been funny, just like Connor saying 'hell', but it wasn't. Connor was sincerely wounded both physically and emotionally and it was changing him, hurting him, in ways he hadn't ever before. "Kid…"

"I know this is a weakness." Connor quickly barrelled on with a wavering voice. "I'm sorry… I suppose I'm truly not fit to be a detective anymore, I'm compromised both physically and mentally and I-"

"Stop it! You are more than just a cop, Connor. You're not some tool for me to use in the field like a magnifying glass in Nancy Drew, you're my _partner_ , you're my _friend,_ and… so much more. I want ya by my side, Kid, but only when you feel you're up for it and not because I think you're a liability, it's 'cause I don't want you gettin' hurt again. I can't watch you- I can't… Connor…"

Now both of them were blubbering like emotional wrecks that they pretended not to be and after a moment of the two of them sitting in silence, trying not to cry, Hank huffed a gentle laugh. "Look at us, huh? Couple'a messes."

Connor smiled, a genuine - if not shy - grin that showed his teeth and was contagious enough that Hank couldn't help but smile just as goofily. "Thank you, Hank. You saved me-"

"Glenn and Lani saved you."

"Hank, you carried me out of an alley halfway across the city from where we parked, you kept me calm when I was panicking, and stripped your car before taking a taxi back into the city to fight Cyberlife for my rights. Glenn and Lani kept me alive and fixed my regulator and I will forever be indebted to them but you saved me in different ways." He looked back out the front of the car, watching the open road come at them at 60 miles per hour. "You're the reason I even had the opportunity to become deviant in the first place, you changed me and you continue to support me… so, as I see it, you saved me a year ago and today."

"You saved me too, Kid. I was ready to kill myself this time last year and you brought me out of that and look at me now."

"Your cholesterol is still too high." Connor pointed out instinctively.

Instead of being annoyed or insulted, Hank burst out laughing and shook his head fondly. "Well, I guess we'll just have to work on that, aye, Son?" Connor smirked and nodded in response as he gazed at Hank's profile the same way a kid looks up at his hero before averting his gaze to the road again. "Hey, Connor?"

"Yes, Hank?" He turned again to look at Hank and meet his gaze briefly before the older man had to look back at the road.

"You called me 'Dad' back there…"

"Oh, did I? I didn't-"

"Not for the first time, either…"

Connor winced, scrunching up his nose and diverting his gaze to his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, don't be. I, uh, I really don't mind, _Son_."

There was a brief pause as Connor seemed to consider the meaning of the emphasis on the none too rare use of the endearment Hank always used with him, his brow wrinkling as he stared at Hank before finally smiling and dipping his chin in a shy manner. "Okay, Dad…"

They both smirked in an almost identical manner as Hank turned the music back up, the song having changed to something more up beat, clapping involved to harmonize with the vocalization. The war against Cyberlife was just beginning, not just for Connor but for all of android-kind and Hank planned on being on the frontlines but now Connor was back at his side and happy, they both were. Though Connor was no longer the 'perfect soldier', Hank knew that his 'heart murmur' added something better, something more, to who he was; it made him flawed, unique, special… it made him more alive. Connor was a prototype from the beginning but now he was truly one of a kind.


End file.
